If you are even vaguely serious about communicating with people in 2017 there is a document Lord of the Rings-style rules them all.

by Dan Slee

The 246-pages of the Ofcom communications marker report gives you a snapshot into the shifting sandbanks of the communications landscape. I simply can’t overstate how much it can help you do your job.

The document always brings surprises and this year is the same as other years. I strongly suggest you download it and spend a couple of hours with it. You can do that here. There are also inserts for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

To whet your whistle, here are some things public sector communicators should know.

63 things comms people need to know about how people are using the media

We are more mobile and more powered by smartphones

Faster networks go hand in hand with increased data. Data used by each mobile phone have risen by 44 per cent to 1.3 GB per handset. More than 90 per cent of people own a mobile phone and 76 per cent use a smartphone.

Homes are connected, 88 per cent of households are now connected to the internet and 66 per cent use a phone online.

TV and DVD ownership s declining while people are binge-watching TV on demand. More than a third watch back-to-back TV programmes while 30 per cent sit down with the family once a week.

Most popular UK social media channels

YouTube and Facebook still dominate. LinkedIn has fallen away and Twitter has gained ground.

YouTube 42.0 million

Facebook 39.7 million

Twitter 21.9 million

Instagram 19.4 million

LinkedIn 15.9 million

Pinterest 12.4 million

Snapchat 10.3 million

Google Plus 8.7 million

The most checked app is Facebook

Those with the Facebook app on their phone check their accounts almost 12 times a day. This is higher than 10 times for WhatsApp, twice a day for Spotify and once a day for YouTube.

Ownership of internet-enabled devices

It is not just the desktop PC that people are using to go online.

What the internet is used for

General surfing and browsing is most popular (87 per cent) with email (85 per cent), online shopping 69 per cent with social networking 61 per cent, watching TV and video 53 per cent, short video clips 43 per cent. A flat 40 per cent use the web to visit local government or government websites.

Young people watch YouTube most but over 55s are the biggest audience

The peak time for YouTube is 5pm to 11pm.

Most dedicated YouTube viewers are 18 to 24-year-olds with 31.9 hours consumed a month. But this demographic (13 per cent) is smaller than the over 55’s (22 per cent) who consume 6.5 hours of video a month.

There is a generational gap amongst favoured plaforms

Facebook is most favoured by 18-to-24s, with 83 per cent using it. This outstrips the two thirds of over 55’s who use it.

Almost three times as many 18-to-24s use YouTube (68 per cent) compared to over over 55’s. Twice as many of the younger demographic (42 per cent) use WhatsApp compared to their older colleagues and almost double (35 per cent) use Twitter.

Android apps

Google Play leads the field with 96 per cent of android phones carrying the app. Following behind, 88 per cent navigate with Chrome, 86 per cent use maps, 80 per cent YouTube 80 per cent and gmail users are at 71 per cent. Facebook is used by 64 per cent and Twitter 45 per cent of android users.

Winding down is a generational thing

Adults on average turn to live TV with almost 50 per cent using this as a crutch. But 12 to 15-year-olds mostly turn to social media to unwind (27 per cent).

Most look on YouTube and Facebook on a laptop and PC

With YouTube, the PC or laptop is used to view by 71 per cent. Jusy over half use a smartphone and 39 per cent a tablet with 33 per cent using a TV.

With Facebook, PC or laptop is favoured by 67 per cent, 63 per cent for smartphone and 36 for tablet. Just six per cent use TV.

We keep in touch by sharing images and video not SMS

In 2012, SMS was the most favoured way to stay in touch. This has become images and video.

Almost all smartphone users – 97 per cent – use the device to view pictures and images and almost two thirds post images and video themselves.

Holiday pictures are the most popular images shared

24 per cent share holiday pics

20 per cent share pets and animals

20 per cent share landscapes or buildings

19 per cent share funny images

16 per cent myself

15 per cent friends

13 per cent sunrise, sunsets and nature

Emojis have become mainstream

Far from being niche, they are being used more and more. A quarter use them every day while one-in-five think they’re important to their communications. A majority – 80 per cent – think they are fun.

Audio remains important

Radio numbers dominate with almost one-in-nine listening to the radio every week with the average 21.4 hours a week. A third use podcasts every week.

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